1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display cabinets. More particularly, the invention relates to display cabinets in which an object may be viewed from several angles through use of reflective surfaces, while the viewer does not see his own reflection.
2. Related Art
Cabinets for the display of objects are known in the art. Often, these cabinets are made based on the principles of kaleidoscopes, having internal mirrors allowing multiple reflections of light.
As a background, U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,318 (Zimmerman) discloses a kaleidoscopic toy having two mirrors and a bright object within a box. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,547,817 (Mahoney) and 2,454,577 (Smith) also disclose kaleidoscopes for amusement purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 630,652 (Buck) discloses a kaleidoscope having three interior mirrors, one of the mirrors having an opening to allow a viewer to see objects in the space defined by the three mirrors.
In the field of display cabinets, U.S. Pat. No. 1,110,296 (Wiley) discloses a display apparatus having mirrors with adjustable intersecting angles, with top and bottom lighting. U.S. Pat. No. 749,678 (Jefferson) discloses a show window having transparent glass windows and one or more reflective mirrors within a case.
These patents are incorporated herein by reference as if reproduced in full below.
Unfortunately, the known display devices have shortcomings which limit their usefulness. Often, the devices for displaying objects allow the observer's own image to be visible in the background, a characteristic which is generally undesirable. Further, attempts to allow multiple views of objects such as that in the Buck patent have often limited the viewer to a very small "peephole". This "peephole" limits the observer's ability to comprehensively view the object from a variety of continuously variable angles, and effectively prevents more than one observer from viewing the interior simultaneously. Moreover, many of the known display systems have occupied more space than is desirable, due to their "boxy" construction. Finally, many known display cabinets have been aesthetically displeasing in shape. These shortcomings have long existed in the art, despite the long history and variety of such display devices.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a display cabinet for objects allowing the objects to be viewed from a plurality of angles simultaneously, preferably allowing one or more observers to view the object along a continuous series of angles of observation. Further, it is desirable to provide such a display cabinet in which the observer's own image is not reflected. Finally, it is desirable that such a cabinet occupy minimum physical space.